Sleep was as close as my orgasm. They were chasing each other to get to me first.
I sighed, giving myself over to whichever happened.
“Let go,” he whispered. “Just let go.”
Those were the last words I heard.
Chapter Twenty-four
Catherine
The first sign something was off was the bright light streaming through the window near the bed. I’d closed the curtains when I’d put Joey to bed, but even if I hadn’t, my girl was up at the crack of dawn when the light was still watercolor fuzzy.
The second sign was the hard lumps on my chest. Why were my breasts so full?
I cracked my eyes open, drowsy yet deeply rested.
This wasn’t my room.
This wasn’t my bed.
Where was my baby?
I shot up, horrified to see it was nine a.m. I should have been up three hours ago.
“Elliot?” I raced from the room, trying not to panic. “Elliot, are you here?”
I heard his voice saying my name in barely a whisper, coming from my bedroom, and with my heart in my throat, I rushed through the door.
“We’re here,” he whispered.
And they were. Elliot was sitting on my bed, my sleeping daughter snuggled on his shoulder, his laptop on his stretched-out legs. I must’ve looked a fright because his mouth was hooked in a crooked grin as he swept his gaze over me.
“What’s going on? Why is it so late?” I was still muddled, trying to come down from the shot of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
He held his hand out, beckoning me to him. Walking over, I slid my palm into his, and he tugged me to the side of the bed.
“Think I can put her down?” he asked.
Joey’s mouth was hanging open, and her bones seemed to be made of jelly. “Yeah, she’s conked out.”
Elliot got up and carried her to her bassinet. Bending in half, he carefully laid her down, rubbing her tummy to soothe her. She was swaddled in her little sleep sack, so she squirmed around a little but quickly settled.
Once she was good, Elliot took my hand and led me back to his bedroom. Clicking the door shut, he tossed the monitor on his bed, tugged me into his arms, and placed a lingering kiss on my lips.
“You slept so well.” He stroked my hair off my face. “Ten hours straight.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t slept ten hours straight in my entire life.”
“You did last night. You passed out with my head between your legs and didn’t stir, not even when I was tucking you under the covers. Feel good?”
I squeezed my eyes shut in disbelief. “I’m so confused. What about Joey? She was all by herself?”
“No, of course she wasn’t. I knew you weren’t ready for her to be alone all night, so after I tucked you in, I took the monitor and slept in your room. You were still out cold when she woke up at six, so I gave her one of the bottles you left in the refrigerator.”
The back of my eyes burned, and I clutched at his shirt, overcome. I’d never had such thoughtfulness directed at me. I was having trouble accepting he’d done this for no other reason than he wanted me to rest. It was too much. My instinct was to fight it, to pick his motivations apart until I understood them.
“Elliot…what about work? Freddie? I—”
“Shhh. We didn’t have any meetings scheduled this morning, and Freddie’s coming in late. It’s all handled. You got a good night’s sleep, and the sky didn’t fall.”
I opened my eyes and sighed. “I don’t know what to say.”
Taking my chin between his fingers, he opened and closed my mouth like I was talking. “Thank you, Elliot. I’m so well rested I’m going to make out with you for a while.”
Laughing, I jerked my chin out of his grip. “I would never say that last part before I brushed my teeth. The rest, yeah. Thank you, Elliot.” I crashed my forehead into his chest. “You’re so good to me. Too good.”
“I disagree.”
I raised my head, frowning. “What?”
“I disagree that I’m too good to you. I treat you how you deserve to be treated. It’s unfortunate you’re not used to that, but I’ll see to it you come to expect to be met with kindness and generosity and never accept less.” He trailed his hand down my spine and squeezed my bottom. “If I can’t make out with you until you brush your teeth, you should go do that now. Time’s wasting.”
I snorted. “It’s a workday, Elliot. We can’t spend it making out.”
He arched a brow. “Your point? I’m the boss. If I want to kiss my assistant instead of showing up at the office on time, I will, and no one can tell me otherwise.”